Univision is sold for $11 billion to Saban group - Technology - International Herald Tribune

NEW YORK — The board of Univision Communications, the largest Spanish- language broadcaster in the United States, has agreed to sell the company for just over $11 billion to a private equity consortium, people involved in the negotiations said.

Univision's directors approved the sale at a meeting in Los Angeles late Monday, and both sides were scrambling to sign the agreement so that it could be announced Tuesday.

At $11.1 billion, or $36.25 a share, the price is well below the $40 a share that Univision originally hoped to receive. But the figure still represents one of the highest multiples paid for a media company in recent history.

The sale of Univision, known for its telenovelas, or soap operas, and its coverage of the World Cup soccer tournament, is a surprise twist in a long-running auction that had appeared on the verge of collapse.

The deal would put Univision in the hands of a group that includes the billionaire media investor Haim Saban. The group also includes four private equity firms - Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners - with stakes in businesses like Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Music.

With the agreement, the consortium will have beaten a rival group led by Grupo Televisa, the Mexican broadcast giant, which had been expected to win the auction.

Univision is the ultimate media juggernaut in the rapidly growing Latino market in the United States, a segment with about $480 billion in annual buying power. It is the fifth-largest television network in the country, reaching some 98 percent of Spanish-speaking households through its 62 television stations, more than 90 affiliate stations and more than 2,000 cable affiliates.

In addition to the network, Univision also owns the largest U.S. Spanish-language radio broadcaster, music company and online operations.

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The sale would mean that Univision would end its association with its biggest shareholder and chairman, A. Jerrold Perenchio, 75, a reclusive onetime Hollywood talent agent who saw the potential for Spanish-language broadcasting in 1992, when he bought the company for $500 million.

An agreement to buy Univision would be a coup for the equity consortium. Less than a week ago, the group made an opening bid of $35.50 a share that was rejected, and it had been expected to drop out of the auction entirely.

But after the Televisa-led group made an offer of $35.75 a share, much lower than Univision or investors had been expecting, the equity consortium returned over the weekend with an offer of $36.25.

The Televisa-led group - which includes Bill Gates's private equity vehicle, Cascade Investments, and Bain Capital - suffered several blows last week when four of its backers dropped out of the auction, worried about the price.

The near collapse of the Televisa-led group was one of the first times that consortium deals - in which many investors come together - have so publicly displayed the friction that often emerges within these teams.

The Univision sale could face scrutiny because Hispanic lobbying organizations are expected to mount campaigns for Univision to have a Hispanic owner.